16-03-26 Results of the national student competition on the theme “The Heroic Exodus of the Free Besieged of Messolonghi in 1826”, school year 2025–2026

The results of the national short film student competition “The Heroic Exodus of the Free Besieged of Messolonghi in 1826” are announced. The competition was organized by the General Secretariat for Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, in collaboration with the Special Synodical Committee on Cultural Identity of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, on the occasion of the 200^th anniversary of this historic event.

Students of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades of middle school were asked to create videos inspired by one of the following figures from the period of the Second Siege (1825–1826) and the heroic Exodus of the Free Besieged of Messolonghi:

1. Bishop Joseph of Roga, National Martyr
2. The notable Christos Kapsalis
3. Ioannis Iakovos Meyer (Swiss Philhellene and publisher of the Greek Chronicles)
4. Tasoula Gyftogianni (heroine of the Second Siege of Messolonghi)
5. Ioannis Papadiamantopoulos

Five (5) Awards and three (3) Honorary Mentions are granted as follows:

AWARDS to students of the following schools:

• 31st Middle School of Thessaloniki – “Tasoula Gyftogianni – Heroine of the Second Siege of Messolonghi”
• Model Ecclesiastical Middle School– Model Ecclesiastical High School of the Patmias Ecclesiastical School – “Christos Kapsalis: The Spirit of Freedom”
• 5th Middle School of Alexandroupoli “Eleni Filippidi”-“The Girl with the Vest -Tasoula Gyftogianni”
• Private Middle School I. Tsiamoulis – “Tasoula Gyftogianni: The Heroine of Messolonghi”
• Private Middle School I. Tsiamoulis – “Johann–Jakob Meyer: The Fighter of the Pen”

HONORARY MENTIONS to students of the following schools:

• 1st Model Middle School with High School Classes of Preveza – “From Solomos to the Present: An Ode to Tasoula Gyftogianni”
• 2nd Day  Middle School of Elliniko “Elli Alexiou” – “The Silent Heroine”
• 2nd Day Middle School of Elliniko “Elli Alexiou” – “When Faith Fights…”

A total of twenty-three (23) students from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades of Middle School will participate in an educational visit to the Holy City of Messolonghi, accompanied by their teachers.

The General Secretariat for Religious Affairs congratulates all students who participated in the competition, the teachers who effectively supported the entire effort, and, in particular, the students’ parents.